Becker College to Close at End of Academic Year

Becker College, a small private college with campuses in Worcester and Leicester, Mass., announced on Monday that it will shut down at the end of the academic year. The college’s permanent closure is due to financial difficulties exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is with deep regret that I share the news that on March 28, the Board of Trustees voted to permanently close Becker College at the end of the current academic year,” wrote Christine Cassidy, chairwoman of the Board of Trustees, in a post on the school’s website. “The College will provide academic support and transitional services to students through August 31, 2021. Following an orderly transition, classes will not resume in the fall.”

Becker has a student population of about 1,500, and it traces its roots back to the founding of Leicester Academy in 1784. The college is currently best known for its game design program, which Princeton Review ranked #2 in the world in 2020. The nearby Clark University, also in Worcester, has announced that it will absorb the program and its various academic concentrations into the new Becker School of Design & Technology at Clark University.

Becker College has reached out to 18 New England colleges to transfer its students. According to Boston.com, some of these colleges will accept all former Becker students in good standing, and others will offer acceptance for specific programs. Likewise, students who were accepted into Becker for the fall 2021 semester will receive their tuition deposits back, and school officials have committed to working with those students on “potential admissions pathways” to other schools.

Becker College has set up a website with information related to the closure to keep the school’s larger community informed. According to an FAQ page, the decision to close the school was based on “the impact of COVID-19, declining enrollment, rising costs, and an insufficient endowment.” The Board of Trustees attempted restructuring academic schools and programs, selling or declining to renew the lease on college-owned buildings, reducing staff and compensation, and pursuing a partnership with a nonprofit educational institution before ultimately deciding to close its doors.

“Closing the College is not the path we wanted to pursue,” said Cassidy. “It is sad at every level. We have sufficient resources to complete this academic year, but not beyond that in a way that is fiscally responsible and in the best interest of students.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • K–12 Safety Trends Report Reveals Reliance on Training, Technology

    Wearable safety technology provider CENTEGIX recently released its 2025 School Safety Trends Report, according to a news release. The report is based on more than 265,000 incidents during the 2024–25 school year as reported through the CENTEGIX Safety Platform, used by more than 800 school districts across the U.S.

  • Pangram Secures Funding for AI Detection Technology

    Pangram, which provides technology that detects AI-generated text, recently announced that it has secured nearly $4 million in pre-seed and seed funding, according to a news release. The most recent round of investments, totaling $2.7 million, come on top of the pre-existing seed fund of $1.25 million.

  • Singlewire Software Report Reveals Gaps in K–12 School Entrance Security

    Single Software recently released its first-ever School Entrance Security Report based on more than 500 responses from U.S. school staff members. According to a news release, the findings highlight a gap between K–12 leaders’ wishes for school safety and how safe the schools actually are, as well as the challenges facing students and staff in that goal.

  • Ancient Resilience: How Indigenous Intelligence Shapes the 4Roots Education Building

    As climate change intensifies, educational spaces must evolve beyond basic sustainability toward true resilience – we must design environments that can adapt, respond, and thrive amid shifting, and intensifying, climate hazards. Drawing on indigenous wisdom and nature-based strategies, integrating resilient design offers a path to create learning environments that are not only functional but deeply in tune with their natural surroundings.

Digital Edition